Chapter 26 Harper
Ingrid Lamb lived in a storybook house with Cinderella-blue shutters accenting snow-white eaves. A charming, modern Victorian surrounded by acres of golden wheat.
Harper didn’t linger on the driveway. Ingrid had invited her for coffee at nine, and it was already a quarter past.
Petunias spilled over six hanging baskets on the front porch, and as Harper neared the farmhouse, a woman lifted her watering can to wave. Ingrid wore corduroy overalls and a pastel pink shirt with graying hair tied back in a ponytail, her smile tentative.
“Thank you for inviting me.” Harper handed over a bouquet of flowers that she’d picked from Marcia’s yard, just now realizing the irony of her gift. “I suppose you already have enough of these growing on your farm.”
“One can never have enough flowers.” Ingrid buried her face in the sunset-orange petals, breathing in the delicate aroma. “Marcia always wins a prize for her tiger lilies at the fair.”
“She’s worked a bit of magic in her backyard.”
“I’ll say.” Ingrid laughed. “Did you have any trouble finding my place?”
“No, but I’m sorry about being late. I stayed up reading past midnight and then overslept.”
“Reading is always a worthy endeavor. Can I ask what story kept you so engaged?”
“Moonflower Lake.”
Ingrid’s smile flatlined. “Did you finish it?”
“Not yet, but I had to force myself to close the cover. I understand why it was Via Belle’s bestselling book.
” As the heroine uncovered terrible secrets about the man she thought loved her, Harper was both spellbound and terrified for the woman’s future.
And she was intrigued—how was Via Belle going to pull together her signature happily ever after from the mess?
Only the scheduled meeting with Ingrid this morning forced her to get some rest.
“It is pretty remarkable considering how many books she sold before that was published.” Ingrid waved her around the side of her house. “Let’s have our coffee on the back patio.”
An antique silver pot with two china mugs awaited them under a covered porch. Ingrid quickly filled a vase with water, and the tiger lilies brightened her rustic farm table.
Harper nodded toward the seemingly endless stalks of wheat paving the hillside. “Have you ever lost anyone in your fields?”
“Not for long. Our kids loved to play in them many moons ago, but even the grandchildren are too old for that now. My one great granddaughter lives in Texas.”
The grain shivered in a breeze, flooding the porch with its earthy aroma. “It would be a fantastic place to hide.”
“Are you enjoying your stay?” Ingrid poured her a steaming cup of coffee before offering a bowl of brown sugar cubes and an elegant creamer with milk.
“I am.” More than she’d ever imagined when she boarded the plane for Philly.
“I think the world of Gerald and Marcia.”
“They’ve been very kind to me.” Harper held the mug up to her nose and inhaled the steam, savoring the aroma like Ingrid with the tiger lilies. “This is glorious.”
“Eli always started his day with a strong cup. He used to roast beans in a popcorn popper, and I’ve done my best to keep up the tradition.
” Ingrid took a long sip like her mug contained a bottomless collection of memories.
“He’s been gone for almost ten years and I still think of him first thing every morning. ”
“What a lovely way to remember your husband.” Harper sipped the brew like her hostess. “This has to be the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.”
Ingrid glowed with her compliment.
“And you make an amazing stew.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Ingrid said. “You mentioned something about one of Eli’s books. I’m curious to know how I can help.”
“I just finished Lady of the Lake.” Harper inched forward on her seat. “And I’d like to know more about Via Belle.”
Ingrid’s coffee splashed as she placed her cup back on the tray. “Oh dear.”
Harper sighed. “That seems to be almost everyone’s response in Catawba.”
“I’m afraid not much can be said about her.”
“I’m a—” Harper paused, wondering to herself what she was these days. “I’ve been talking to a Hollywood director about making a movie based on Olivia’s life.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“So many reasons,” Harper said. “She was a much-loved novelist who built a mysterious old house, married a soldier during World War II, and then disappeared. Her entire life is intriguing.”
Not to mention the supposed ghosts haunting Haven House.
Ingrid studied her. “There are many compelling stories out there.”
“This one’s also personal.” Harper took another sip. “My mom grew up near here, and we used to read Via Belle’s books together. I guess I want to share that experience in some way with others.”
“Your mother is gone now?”
Harper nodded. “She died last year.”
“A movie would be a lovely tribute, but Finn is the person you should speak with. He manages everything with Olivia’s books.”
“I’m afraid he’s not exactly thrilled about the idea.”
“I’m sorry that I can’t help you more.” Ingrid scanned her forest of grain as if she could find resolution among the stalks. “Olivia meant a lot to my husband.”
Harper had so many questions but decided to start at the beginning. “Was Eli able to meet her?”
Ingrid pondered the question before answering. “Olivia actually took him under her wing when he was young. Did you know he was orphaned as a child?”
Harper shook her head. “I don’t know much beyond the book flap.”
“The Lamb family adopted Eli when he was thirteen, and he returned after college with a degree in education and a desire to farm. He inherited a portion of land and eventually purchased the rest from his siblings, but his work as a teacher and then principal kept him busy in town, so he leased most of the property to another farmer.” Ingrid nodded to a house in the distance.
“After he died, one of our sons decided to farm full-time. It’s been good to have things growing here again. ”
“How many children do you and Eli have?”
“Three.” She smiled. “He would have had a dozen if we could, but he loved our three dearly. Then we had eight grandchildren, and I pray for them every morning with my coffee.”
How wonderful to be part of such a large family with connections stretching over the miles and then tethering them together.
Harper spent much of her childhood dreaming of such a thing until she began creating imaginary people to keep her company, but there was nothing like a real person who knew both your good and bad and still welcomed you home with open arms.
Ingrid took another sip, studying her again like Harper was a story full of threads that needed unraveling. “Finn is the only one who hasn’t married.”
She almost choked on her coffee. “Finn is your grandson?”
“He’s a fine young man. Needs a good wife who loves God and loves him.” Ingrid inched forward on her seat. “Are you seeing anyone?”
Harper couldn’t stop her burst of laughter.
The few men who’d seemed interested in her over the years quickly became uninterested when they met Kelsey, but she wasn’t about to explain the beauty and charm of her best friend.
Nor would she share what she really thought about the woman’s grandson.
This meeting wasn’t about Finn, but pity the poor woman who decided to walk down an aisle for him.
Ingrid refilled their cups, seemingly undaunted by Harper’s laugh. “So no boyfriend back in California?”
Harper swallowed an unsweetened sip, trying to regain her calm. “Where did you and Eli meet?”
“Now that’s a story I love to share,” Ingrid said with a smile.
She told Harper about a small coed college in Ohio where she and Eli attended. The junior who swept her off her feet at an awards banquet and introduced her to his friends. Then she spoke about a professor who took Eli under his wing and taught him how to teach.
“Eli received a scholarship to attend Winfield, and Professor Farrow instilled in my husband a love for teaching as well as learning.”
“Wait—” The name reverberated in Harper’s head. “Professor Simon Farrow?”
“We always called him Professor. During our college years, he became like a surrogate father to my husband.”
Was it possible that Olivia’s husband had relocated to teach in Ohio after the war? And if so, did Olivia go with him? “Eli said that Simon Farrow was the name of Olivia’s second husband.”
“I don’t know what happened to Olivia’s husband after she left.”
Harper would have to sort out the connections later. “How did Eli meet her?”
“She started feeding him and his grandfather in those dark days after the Depression. When Eli’s grandfather became too sick to live in their cabin, Olivia cared for them both in Haven House. Olivia saved Eli’s life, and he worked hard through the years to honor her legacy.”
The pieces were slowly fitting together. Had Eli, in the honoring of her life, skewed some of the history? “Sharing Olivia’s story seems to be a good way to remember her.”
“Olivia continued to support him for years,” Ingrid said. “He was always loyal to her.”
“I’m glad he was welcomed into a good family.”
Ingrid nodded. “Garrett and Jillian Lamb treated him like one of their own.”
Harper stared down at her coffee. How would things have been different for her family if her mother had been adopted? Perhaps Angeline would have been surrounded with a loving family like the Lambs to support her instead of spending so much of her life struggling to find a home.
“The thing is—” Harper leaned forward. “Eli’s life seems to be an open book, but he barely mentioned Olivia’s disappearance in the biography. It’s like he was trying to gloss over what happened.”
“Sometimes there are perfectly good reasons to hold one’s secrets close.”
Her hostess was much more pleasant than Finn, but they were both keeping secrets.
“I can smell that coffee all the way in the front yard.”
Harper jumped as a man—the man who had ousted her twice from Olivia’s property—rounded the corner.
“Finn!” Ingrid hopped out of her chair. “What brings you here this morning?”